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Letter: Minnesota needs clean air

By Margaret Karsten, Willmar on Apr 10, 2010 at 12:00 a.m.

Air quality in Minnesota is declining. Yet, Rep. Collin Peterson has introduced a "disapproval resolution" to take away the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate some of the gas emissions coming from smokestacks.

I urge voters to call his office to request that he remove this bill from consideration. He is a coauthor with Rep. Ike Skelton and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

The problem in Minnesota is so bad that last winter broke all records of air alerts. According to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency air quality specialist Cassie McMahon, this past winter had 28 days of alerts, whereas in past years, the average number of alerts during winter has been two. She explained that Minnesota has 30 monitors in outstate Minnesota and 26 in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota used to be known as a clean-air state. The Clean Air Act, passed in 1970 during the Nixon Republican administration, has cleaned up many areas traditionally considered polluted, such as the smog in California. Now, Rep. Peterson needs to consider people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses in his district. Urge Peterson to support clean renewable energy policies that cut pollution and create jobs, not turn back the clock.